Some 8662 Questions - Answers Appreciated

Hi all, I've been browsing around lately looking for a performance laptop now that I'm graduating highschool.
After checking out a lot of brands and models, I'm looking at buying the Sager NP8662, but I have a few questions and concerns that, if answered, would really put my mind at rest before I make a big purchase!

First and foremost, are the heating issues of this laptop really that bad? Is this thing too hot to spend money on? I want something that I can use in class, and then take back to the dorm and play some high-end games, preferably without using a laptop cooler (or at least not using one in class).
How long would one of these laptops last? I'm hoping to get 3-4 years out of it?

Here are the specs of what I'm looking at:
- 15.4" WUXGA "Matte Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Screen (1920x1200)
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- ~Intel® T9900 45nm "Montevina" Core™2 Duo 3.06GHz
- nVidia GeForce GTX 260M 1,024MB PCI-Express DDR3 DX10
- No Video Adapter
- ~ 4,096MB DDR3 1066MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS)
- ~ 320GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache)

- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- ~Windows Vista Ultimate 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's

I have some questions about those specs
1) Hows the speed of the Intel® T9900?
2) If I order from Xoticpc, it comes with Arctic Silver 5, will this help bring down the heat?
3)Are 7200rpm HD's pretty well standard? Or should I get a 5400rpm to bring down the heat?
4)When ordering from Xoticpc, I'm selecting the "No Video Adapter" option, as the other options are for 2 or 3 external monitor controllers, and I plan on having ONE external monitor, do I need anything special to run with ONE external monitor? When they say "No Video Adapter", does that literally mean NO video adapter, as in I wont be able to connect to a monitor at all?
5) Do I need any sort of special soundcard??

Final question regards XoticPC, who I'm thinking of buying from, are these guys legit? And are they the only Sager dealer that supply you with Arctic Silver compound? Or is that stuff just standard in all sager lappy's?

That's it, alot of questions I know, so please don't feel like you have to answer them all, and much love to whomever gives me some answers!
Thanks in Advance.

Edit Question: How are xoticpc's warranties? Should I bother shell out the money for a warranty?

 

I can answer this:
a) XoticPC is VERY legit. So is PowerNotebooks.com legit. You really CANNOT go wrong with either company. Arctic Silver is supplied to keep the CPUs cool, as the np8662 is a high-performance 15" laptop. It has been in use in one form or the other for many years, and when applied properly can bring cpu temperatures down by up to 8 or more degrees C. XoticPC and PowerNotebooks both use AS5 for maximum cooling.

b) The speed of the T9900 is really not much greater than the next lowest CPUs (T9600 / P9700). In fact, the P9700 uses 10w less power and only loses .26Ghz. The P9700, according to Intel's site has a turbo mode in it that lets it boost one core up to 3.06ghz when using a single-core only application. I'd save the $200, get the P9700 and use the $200 for something else (500GB 7200rpm HDD, anyone?)

c) The soundcard is up to you. The X-fi express card will help with mp3's noticeably in cleaning up the sound / attempting to emulate the super-highs and super-lows lost in compression, however it is only surround-sound capable. To get surround-sound connectivity you need an additional connector available through creative that hooks on and gives all the connections needed. Furthermore, to even utilize the card, you need an external sound system hookup (a 2.1 system of sorts will work). Otherwise it's just in your computer with nothing to do. The card is best if you're trying to set up a hometheatre and need full surround-sound, or if you play games that can employ multi-channel capabilities

d) 7200rpm in a performance laptop is the standard, and they do not use a great deal more power than 5400rpm. Currently, the latest 7200rpms are hitting 500gb (seagate momentus 7200.4) and the read / writes are about 15 to 20% faster than a 5400rpm of the same size. However, one issue to watch out for is that temperatures aren't too high with platter drives. You do not want to see temperatures in the HDD exceeding 60 Deg C, or you risk damaging the HD. As a result, in many high-performance applications, there is an increasing demand for SSDs as they combine extremely high performance in reads and writes with increased tolerance of higher temperatures. They are though, prohibitively expensive as this time, however in a year the prices should come down enough to be more "consumer-accessible".

e) get the one for 2 adapters... worst comes the worst you'll have one unused plug, you can always expand to 2 monitors without having to buy ANOTHER adapter. Can't hurt, and you'll always have it at the ready.

Change the T9900 to a P9700, and the 320gb 7200rpm to a 500gb 7200rpm and you'll have a computer that combines the best in performance, energy use, and storage.



And welcome to the np8662 club! A small, compact yet very fast society!

Jason

 

Thanks alot for the quick reply!
On the subject of HardDrives.. would anyone recommend getting the 160gb SSD? Would a SSD help with temperature and overall longevity of the rig?

 

depends on the SSD. SLC SSD's are really for servers, but by and large provide MUCH faster read and write rates, and higher IOPS amounts than MLC... they usually last 100,000 writes before they can no longer be written to (SLCs), however they do not hold as much storage and are typically much more expensive than MLC. SLC stands for "Single layer cell"

MLC's are usually more spacious, less expensive, and not quite as fast (usually) as their SLC counterparts. They also only last about 10,000 writes before failure (an order of magnitude less), but you'll find more storage space on them. MLC stands for "multi layer cell"

SLC's have one cell, thus they only have one choice per section: either on or off (0 , 1). This means that there is no middle ground, whereas MLC's have completely off, partially deleted, partially written, and fully written (00, 01, 10, 11). What this means is that while more data can be squeezed onto a section in MLC, because there are more chips in layers than on a SLC, it has to search in more within a sector, and it's possible that one part of the sector can fail without the other part, and bring down both parts of the sector. SLC's are right at the verge of saturating SATA II bandwidth abilities (the x-25e and the Vertex EX are first to pop in my mind, though the Solidata X-1 can do the same as well), with MLC doing similar for less cost.

I would give SSD's another 12 to 18 mths, and don't worry about the laptop being "outdated", there will still be a strong SATA II market for a long while to come... and with all the extra storage and speed abilities and developments in TRIM and random reads / writes capabilities... the future for SSD's looks brighter every day.

Jason

 

I agree with all the answers you have received thus far.

On the subject of the SSD over the HDD, I would say get the 500GB 7200RPM one for now and then when SSD prices come down more and have higher capacities that can compare to the current HDDs, buy an SSD and swap it out with the HDD. That's my current plan.

 

Thanks alot guys, could anyone please tell me just how bad the heat issues are on this laptop? Is it just like.. 1/10 get too hot? Or is it a universal problem that should hold me back on my purchase?

And also - when selecting "No Video Adapter" from XoticPC does that literally mean, NO adapter, as In I couldn't connect to a monitor to save my life?

 

it means the only monitor you're going to see is the one that came with your laptop. You need to get a video adapter to be able to hook up to an external (not part of YOUR laptop) monitor. I'd just get the one that connects to 2 more monitors and be done with it. This way you can have an external monitor connected, and if you need to grow, you have some room to do so. Better to be a little over the top with a computer than realize you need a whole new piece of equipment because you underestimated your needs.

Addenda: to clarify, the np8662 does come with hdmi and dvi ports, so it is ready for hookup, the 2 monitors part means you need a cable to hook everything together.

 

That's not correct. The 8662 comes standard with both hdmi and dvi outputs.

 

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That is correct, I was referring to the cable that one uses to connect the hdmi and dvi outputs to external monitors. Sorry for the confusion.

 

Then you weren't answering the question he asked.

He does not need the Matrox DualHead2Go to hook up a single external monitor.

 

So, a lil confused here, if I do wanna connect to ONE external monitor in full 1900x1200 resolution for gaming (while say, having MSN running on my natural laptop monitor) I do not need to select anything special from XoticPC?

Sorry, this whole ordeal with either having "NO external monitor" or "TWO external monitors" confuses me, why is there no "ONE external monitor" option!! Haha

I'm fine with buying the cables separatly btw, I just want the actual port on my laptop. Dont wanna screw that up and get no port, or.. get 3.

 

apparently not... I got confused, you don't need anything special to hook ONE external monitor. *blushes*

Now go get that one monitor and hook it up!

 

That's correct. Just plug your monitor or tv into either the dvi or hdmi port and you can either mirror you desktop to the external screen or use it as a second desktop.

 

The extra adapters are if you want to run 2 or 3 external displays simultaneously with your laptop display. Every Sager laptop can support one external monitor stock with no additional purchase. All of the high end Sager's have HDMI and then either a VGA or DVI to run your external display.

 

Thanks alot for the great answers guys! Another question, perhaps directed towards Justin (whom I will be ordering from shortly). I saw in some peoples signatures that they're np8662 is coming with a "Windows7update" or something along those lines? Can anyone fill me in on this? Will you get a copy of Windows 7 shipped when it comes out???